In an effort to appease protesters and avoid a possible Seattle, Democratic mayor John Street has given permits to two worthy-sounding protestsa march to save health insurance, and another for global economic justiceboth presumably aimed at impressing people with just how responsible "radical participatory democracy" can be. But there's at least the possibility of a wild card since activist Cheri Honkala, a resident of Philadelphia and mother of Hollywood actor Mark Webber, is planning a march of homeless people in the spirit of Coxey's Army.

Honkala and her Kensington Welfare Rights Union made a big impression in the anti-WTO protests in the streets of Seattle. So far, the Kensington group has been denied two permitsone for a vigil and the other for a march. But Honkala vows she will march at noon on July 31 from City Hall to the convention center. "I've been here 10 years," she said. "I lived in abandoned houses for nine months. I built this movement with my son and with other women who were in a similar situation.

"We're tired of being run over," Honkala added. "Our permits were denied because the city wants the poor to disappear during the Republican convention. It's a shame that they don't want poverty to endjust to disappear. Well, that's not going to happen."